Yemen's Houthi fighters and their allies seized part of
Aden, a strategic port city.
Aden lies near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is one of the
world's
oil chokepoints. Most exports from the Persian Gulf that
transit the Suez Canal and SUMED Pipeline pass through Bab
el-Mandeb. West Texas Intermediate crude oil is down 2% at $49.07
per barrel.

Nuclear talks with Iran are ongoing. Talks
persisted throughout the night as both sides showed a willingness
to get a deal done. According to
The Washington Post, "The West demands that the Lausanne
talks wind up with concrete commitments. But Iran has pushed
back, demanding a general statement with few specifics."

The European Central Bank has increased its emergency
assistance to Greece. Greek banks are now eligible to
receive 71.8 billion euros ($77.3 billion) through the ECB's
Emergency Liquidity Assistance program. The measure provides more
liquidity for the country's struggling lenders.

Greece has submitted a new list of reforms to its
creditors. Greece's government provided a
lengthy list of reforms, which included new revenue streams.
The plan also proposes an increase in spending on some government
programs. An unnamed eurozone official noted, the proposals are a
"very long way from being a basis [for a deal]." April 9 is
setting up as a key date as the troubled country must make good
on debt obligations to the International Monetary Fund. Greece's
three-year yield is up 53 basis points at 23.38%, its highest
since 2013.

Australia's trade deficit widened. The country's
trade deficit expanded to $1.26 billion ($1 billion
previous). Exports rose 1%, dragged down by weakness in iron ore
shipments, while imports edged up 1.9%, mostly a result of the
weak Australian dollar. Australia's dollar is off 0.7% at .7550,
its weakest in six years.

Google will face the wrath of the European
Union. Antitrust charges are expected to be filed
against the search giant in
the next few weeks. Google faces a fine of up to 10% of its
annual revenues, or more than $6 billion, if using 2014 as a
guide.

Global stock markets are flat to higher. Japan's
Nikkei (+1.5%) led Asian markets higher while Britain's FTSE
(+0.2%) paces a choppy session in Europe. US futures are down
modestly.

US economic data is moderate. Initial jobless
claims and the trade balance will cross the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET
while factory orders are set for release at 10 a.m. ET. Natural
gas storage is due out at 10:30 a.m. ET.